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The potential of public parks being able to promote mental and physical health of the public is widely discussed in recent years. However, the report for public park issues becomes a norm too. One of the issues being debated is the maintenance drawback in Malaysian public parks, implicating underutilisation of the parks. To address the issue, this paper aims to examine the maintenance priority towards public park’s features and facilities in Malaysia by considering the park visitors’ expectation and demand. A questionnaire survey was distributed to the park users and visitors with 1658 valid questionnaire responses. A mean analysis was performed to rank the maintenance of park features and facilities in both visitors’ perspective and actual experience. Subsequently, Wilcoxon signed-rank test was deployed to examine the difference between visitors’ perspective and actual experience towards maintenance of the park features and facilities. The findings determine ten park features and facilities that should be prioritised in respect to their maintenance. Furthermore, it is proven that significant difference occurs between visitors’ perspective and actual experience towards all park features and facilities. As a result, the study confirms the need of improving the park maintenance process and recommends the introduction of maintenance prioritisation towards the park features and facilities.

Public parks play a significant role in the promotion of human well-being, nature protection and as a medium for ecosystem regeneration. Nonetheless, the provision and management of facilities in Malaysia’s public parks has been inconsistently and inadequately administered due to budgetary constraints. To optimise a limited budget whilst safeguarding the multidimensional benefits of parks, this paper aims to identify and classify park facilities according to its vitality. The research was conducted in two stages, involving observation and a questionnaire survey. In total, 1,658 respondents who had experience of visiting the public parks in Malaysia took part in the survey. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and reliability analysis were deployed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software to classify the park facilities whilst measuring the consistency of the classification. Nineteen identified facilities were classified into two constructs, namely essential facilities and value-added facilities. The research outcome serves as a guide to plan and manage public parks within budget limitations. Moreover, future research from the perspective of motive and satisfaction in relation to visiting a park is recommended to validate the provision and maintenance of essential and value-added facilities [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between adolescents' physical activity practice and their perception about the environment of urban parks. Methods: A school-based representative sample (n = 1,718; boys = 40.4%) of teenagers of Curitiba, Southern region of Brazil. A questionnaire was employed to identify perceived parks environmental features as well as physical activity practice in the parks (PAP), habitual physical activity (HPA) and demographics. The relationship between PAP and parks environments was analyzed through multivariate logistic regression controlling for age and socioeconomic status, HPA and parks distance. Results: After controlling for confounders PAP was associated with lack of space to be physically active, activities to choose from and equipments for both boys and girls, (odds ratio (OR)—ranging from 1.5 to 1.8). Among boys, having people of same age (OR = 1.5) and accessibility (OR = 2.0) showed association with PAP only in crude analysis. However, among girls, to be bulled or teased (OR = 1.4) and accessibility (OR = 1.7) were associated with PAP after confounding control. Conclusions: The results showed that specific attributes in parks may be considered and offered to increase the likelihood of physical activity practice among adolescents in such locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Health scholars purport that park proximity and social support promotes physical activity and health. However, few studies examine the combined contributions of these constructs in shaping physical activity and health. Purpose: In this study, the contributions of environmental and social characteristics in shaping park use, physical activity, and health are examined. Methods: A survey was distributed to 1515 older adults in Cleveland, Ohio. Results: Path analysis indicated that social support was directly related to health. Perceived park walking proximity was related to physical activity and health through park use frequency. Park proximity was directly related to park use duration. Conclusions: Results suggest that environmental and social characteristics contribute to physical activity and health, but perceptions may also be a prerequisite to park use, daily physical activity, and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Though park presence and access disparities are well studied for their associations with physical activity (PA), disparities in the availability and quality of amenities and facilities within parks have been infrequently examined. Methods Five hundred forty-three parks from 472 block groups in the Seattle, WA and Baltimore, MD regions were audited using the Environmental Assessment of Public Recreation Spaces (EAPRS) to assess presence and quality (e.g., condition, cleanliness) of amenities (e.g., restrooms, seating) and facilities (e.g., fields, courts). General linear model regressions investigated Census 2000-derived neighborhood race/ethnicity and income main effect and interactive relationships with 7 park quality summary scores: 1) trails, 2) open space, 3) sports facilities, 4) PA facilities count, 5) PA facilities quality, 6) aesthetics, and 7) overall amenities, controlling for park size. The regions were analyzed separately due to differing race/ethnicity distributions. Results In the Seattle region, neighborhood income was significantly negatively associated with sports quality score (p

Public parks provide places for urban residents to obtain physical activity (PA), which is associated with numerous health benefits. Adding facilities to existing parks could be a cost-effective approach to increase the duration of PA that occurs during park visits. Using objectively measured PA and comprehensively measured park visit data among an urban community-dwelling sample of adults, we tested the association between the variety of park facilities that directly support PA and the duration of PA during park visits where any PA occurred. Cross-classified multilevel models were used to account for the clustering of park visits (n = 1553) within individuals (n = 372) and parks (n = 233). Each additional different PA facility at a park was independently associated with a 6.8% longer duration of PA bouts that included light-intensity activity, and an 8.7% longer duration of moderate to vigorous PA time. Findings from this study are consistent with the hypothesis that more PA facilities increase the amount of PA that visitors obtain while already active at a park. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neighborhood parks are important venues for the urban population to do moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in leisure time. Parks can be particularly important for low-income neighborhoods, whose residents suffer from high rates of chronic diseases and may have less access to fee-based fitness exercise facilities. This study assessed the contribution of parks to local populations' physical activity in 48 high-poverty neighborhoods in the city of Los Angeles, using systematic observation of park use and surveys of park users and residents conducted between 2013 and 2015. We found that parks accounted for approximately 2.1% (between-park SD = 1.4%) of moderate physical activity time and 3.1% (between-park SD = 2.1%) of vigorous physical activity time of the local population, both of which were notably lower than the city-level average previously reported. Parks' contribution to physical activity was positively associated with park size (β = 0.13, p < 0.0001) and negatively associated with poverty (β = - 0.10, p < 0.0001) and local population density (β = - 0.25, p = 0.005). Parks in high-poverty neighborhoods in Los Angeles are underutilized, and more efforts are needed to fully realize their potential for population health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perceived Crowding Level (PCL) is an indicator of the social carrying capacity of recreational sites such as National Parks. Using a sample of national-level visitor survey data across 21 National Parks in South Korea, this paper aims to apply a multilevel ordered logit model as a method in testing for statistical relationships between the PCL and the covariates, accounting for site- and individual-specific heterogeneity. The results hint that levels of perceived crowding in South Korean National Parks are related to factors such as the behaviour of other users and the quality of park facilities such as comfort in accommodation. The measured level of heterogeneity can provide useful information about the level (nation-wide or park-specific) of intervention policies and management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential of public parks being able to promote mental and physical health of the public is widely discussed in recent years. However, the report for public park issues becomes a norm too. One of the issues being debated is the maintenance drawback in Malaysian public parks, implicating underutilisation of the parks. To address the issue, this paper aims to examine the maintenance priority towards public park's features and facilities in Malaysia by considering the park visitors' expectation and demand. A questionnaire survey was distributed to the park users and visitors with 1658 valid questionnaire responses. A mean analysis was performed to rank the maintenance of park features and facilities in both visitors' perspective and actual experience. Subsequently, Wilcoxon signed-rank test was deployed to examine the difference between visitors' perspective and actual experience towards maintenance of the park features and facilities. The findings determine ten park features and facilities that should be prioritised in respect to their maintenance. Furthermore, it is proven that significant difference occurs between visitors' perspective and actual experience towards all park features and facilities. As a result, the study confirms the need of improving the park maintenance process and recommends the introduction of maintenance prioritisation towards the park features and facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parks are recognised as important elements of urban green infrastructure and for providing many benefits to city residents. In countries where urban growth is unplanned and sprawling, green space provision falls behind, inadequate amounts are provided or spaces are not located in the most effective places. Tehran, the capital of Iran, has experienced huge growth in population and corresponding sprawl in recent years. There has been no study of the effectiveness of parks as part of the range of green spaces in the city − their location, accessibility within the urban structure, relationship to the socio-demographic character of the population, amount per capita or quality and condition. Using a combination of existing data supplemented by new data from site surveys, this study firstly looked at the citywide scale of public open space in relation to population and socio-economic patterns. Second, a representative sample of 16 parks was examined in terms of their accessibility within the urban street structure using space syntax. The syntactical results were correlated with several different aspects of each park collected and rated on a 1–5 scale. The results showed a wide range of availability of parks with no specific pattern related to whether the district is better off or poor. The data on green space per district was often heavily biased by the presence of large areas of forest park or non-recreational land which gives a false picture.Many of the best parks are poorly integrated into the street network and found in the better off districts yet are very popular because they are “destination” parks in cooler, hilly areas. Poorly integrated parks in the inner city districts tended to show lower levels of maintenance, were often little used and had vandalism. Much more attention is needed to provide green space in an equitable way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional park accessibility studies relying on physical distance have critical limitations, because proximity alone does not predict park use, and contemporary cities struggle with a land shortage for more parks. Efficient, integrated methods of analysing the psychological dimension to park accessibility are scarce. Thus, this study examines factors constituting psychological park accessibility and measurement methods through a systematic literature review. Findings from the review show that psychological park accessibility stems from the perception of distance, park quality and the neighbourhood environment, which could be measured either quantitatively or qualitatively. The proposed conceptual framework would provide researchers with stronger predictive measurement tools for analysing park accessibility and instead of constructing new parks, planners could devise more effective strategies to improve current park use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Though park presence and access disparities are well studied for their associations with physical activity (PA), disparities in the availability and quality of amenities and facilities within parks have been infrequently examined.Methods: Five hundred forty-three parks from 472 block groups in the Seattle, WA and Baltimore, MD regions were audited using the Environmental Assessment of Public Recreation Spaces (EAPRS) to assess presence and quality (e.g., condition, cleanliness) of amenities (e.g., restrooms, seating) and facilities (e.g., fields, courts). General linear model regressions investigated Census 2000-derived neighborhood race/ethnicity and income main effect and interactive relationships with 7 park quality summary scores: 1) trails, 2) open space, 3) sports facilities, 4) PA facilities count, 5) PA facilities quality, 6) aesthetics, and 7) overall amenities, controlling for park size. The regions were analyzed separately due to differing race/ethnicity distributions.Results: In the Seattle region, neighborhood income was significantly negatively associated with sports quality score (p < .043), PA facilities total count (p < .015) and the overall amenities quality score (p < .004) (unexpected direction). In the Baltimore region, neighborhood race/ethnicity (percent White/non-Hispanic) was significantly positively related to the open spaces quality score (p < .011) (expected direction). A significant income-by-race/ethnicity interaction was found for PA facilities quality (p = .014), with high-percent minority neighborhoods having higher quality parks in high- vs. low-income neighborhoods, yet was opposite in mostly White/non-Hispanic neighborhoods. The other income-by-race/ethnicity interaction was for overall amenities quality score (p = .043), where scores in high-percent minority neighborhoods were best in high- vs. low-income neighborhoods. There was little difference in scores within mostly White or mixed neighborhoods by income.Conclusions: Patterns of association of neighborhood race/ethnicity and income with park qualities differed between regions. In the Seattle region, "equitable differences" were found, where lower income neighborhoods had better park quality on average. In the Baltimore region, park quality was more consistently negatively associated with income and race/ethnic diversity, and complex interactions of race/ethnicity by income were detected. These findings emphasize the need to explore other factors that may explain variations in park quality, like local policy, citizen involvement in park decision-making, park funding and allocation, sources of funding and park priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Park-and-Ride (PNR) facilities are a commonly used means of making a transit system more widely available. However, given that a PNR passenger must drive for part of the trip, this approach to transit provision has an ambiguous influence on vehicle kilometers traveled (VKT). The impact of PNR on VKT is highly dependent of how PNR users would choose to travel if the PNR facilities were not available. Given that this issue has received little attention in a US context, we use the light rail system in Charlotte, North Carolina as a case study to examine the potential impact of PNR removal on VKT. Using a travel survey of PNR passengers, we estimate the VKT currently generated while driving to and from the rail stations and then estimate how VKT would change under various PNR removal scenarios that assume different behavioral responses. We find that, under the most realistic scenarios, PNR removal would lead the average PNR passenger to increase her driving by 8-15VKT per round trip. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The economic impacts of parks on adjacent property values have been extensively studied in the literature. Studies on how individual park facilities influence property values, however, are rarely found. While park facilities are essential for providing diverse recreational opportunities, their economic impacts should also be considered when designing a park system. This study, therefore, applied hedonic regression models to examine the impacts of park facilities on neighboring residential property values within the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The park facilities examined are divided into two categories: passive (i.e. passive recreation space, water features, and gardens) and active (i.e. children's play grounds, ball fields, tennis courts, skate park, etc.). Analysis of results suggests that park facilities for passive recreation, with the exception of urban gardens, are likely to have positive impacts on property values. Active facilities, especially skate parks and children's play areas, tend to introduce negative impacts. The impacts of facilities on property values decrease over distance zones from parks, which is consistent with the findings in the literature. Moreover, the impacts of facilities on property values vary with size, as gardens and most active facilities are more likely to be beneficial in small parks, while water features in large parks tend to increase property values. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose – This paper identifies and discusses that parks, as one kind of open space, must be open not only for some people, but for everyone, including those with special needs such as visually impaired people. The paper further identifies a number of key directions for the policy, design and management of park environments and facilities that will promote openness and social inclusion. Design/methodology/approach – The study was qualitative in nature. Case study approach on park environments and facilities was adopted. Used site studies, field observations, interviews with the government officials and professionals of planners, designers and management were conducted. Direct interviews with the visually impaired people were conducted during the field observation. Some of them were also invited to participate in participatory research workshops to give comments and suggestions on the design and management of park environments and facilities. Findings – Open spaces are important and necessary for all. However, visually impaired people are always indirectly excluded from open spaces such as parks, which are important for the quality of urban life. Three areas that require attention to improve the accessibility of parks: ways of identifying and approaching the parks; overall environmental setting of the parks; and facilities inside the parks. Assistance to visually impaired people can be further categorized into information provided in advance and information provided on-site. Research limitations/implications – Further case studies are expected to be conducted in other kinds of open space and other cities in order to generate a more comprehensive understanding related to the topic. Continuous studies are also necessary since the park environments and facilities are changing all the time. With the users' participation, in particular those with special needs, in research is important. Practical implications – The findings provide reference and direction for the governments, designers and managment to plan, design and manage parks for the needs of visually impaired people. The findings also advocate inclusive and universal approach in planning, implementation and management of parks. Social implications – The findings identify that visually impaired people most of the time are indirectly excluded from accessing parks as well as other open spaces. Originality/value – Although the paper was based on a case study in Hong Kong, its practical and social implications are also important to other places. Although barrier-free concept and requirement have been enforced in many places for some years, people with special needs (in particular visually impaired people) still face a lot of "barriers" in their daily life. The findings provide insights for researchers and also policymakers, designers and management to review the needs of the visually impaired. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of the work on constraints in the park and recreation field has concentrated on structural constraints. However, relatively little has been reported on the sub-set of structural constraints that have been termed institutional constraints, i.e. practices of agencies that may contribute to inhibiting participation. This study examined the impact of five potential institutional constraints to park use. It used a probability sample of 458 residents in a city of 90,000. Results showed that no significant relationship existed between park use and traffic around a park; being well informed about neighborhood park plans; and communication with park leaders. The results suggested that these three potential institutional constraints were not impediments to park use in this community. There was a significant relationship between level of park use and perceived level of information about park facilities and recreation programs (p = 0.01) and to a lesser extent (p = 0.07) with perceptions of parks being well maintained and clean. The latter relationship was counter-intuitive since it indicated that respondents who believed parks were not well maintained were 15% more likely to use them. It was suggested this may be explained by park aficionados having both a better understanding of what constitutes excellent maintenance, and a greater awareness of sub-par maintenance in parks they visit frequently because of their intimate acquaintance with them. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses counts of vulture carcasses in Uganda and a revised proposal for a monitoring protocol. It says that a note by Pomeroy and colleagues reveal that 319 vultures came to goat carcasses at various sites in Uganda in 2003 which were adopted in 2005 since there were no breeding colonies of the said animal in the country, although Bramford and colleagues described in 2009 that there seems to be potential suitable sites. Moreover, counts in 2009 were in four savanna parks with one cow per site unlike in 2003 wherein site used had two sites each with two goat carcasses. It also mentions comparable results in 2003 were similar in 2009 although there were differences in methods used. It suggests that cows are more suitable as bait and more vultures would have counted.

Alien invasive plants (AIP) significantly impact the ecology of natural areas and nature-based recreation, yet control programs are chronically underfunded. This study examined Florida residents' willingness-to-pay (WTP) to control aquatic AIP in river and lake state parks through entrance fees. We used a method commonly applied in the nonmarket valuation literature, but not previously applied to AIP, and found that residents have a high WTP to control AIP and are willing to support control programs through entrance fees. In 2007, we surveyed 1299 Florida residents to estimate the impact of AIP on state park recreation. The survey included conjoint choice questions to establish the impact of several park attributes on respondents' economic utility or welfare: abundance of AIP, entrance fees, park facilities, abundance of native plant species, and abundance of native animal species. Using entrance fees as a payment vehicle, we estimated that the typical Florida resident has a per-visit WTP of $6.15 to reduce AIP coverage, $4.41 to improve park facilities, $3.81 to increase the abundance of native plants, and $4.99 to increase the abundance for native animals. We used annual attendance data from 63 river and lake state parks to calculate statewide WTP to control AIP and found that local residents are willing to spend $12.26 million/yr, and all users are willing to spend $35.01 million/yr to keep AIP from becoming “numerous and dense” in the 63 parks. This far outweighs the $26 million/yr that the state is currently spending in all natural areas, including state parks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Many ground improvement methods generate much less environmental impact than other deep foundation methods, for example concrete piling. Creative use of various ground improvement methods has already generated tangible benefits to completed projects, such as the Dartford Park project in the UK. The experience gained in these ground improvement projects highlights where further use of proven and emerging technology can provide still greater opportunity to reduce the environmental impact of deep foundation systems. The present study compared the environmental impact of common methods of ground improvement against more traditional deep foundation methods to show that, using a like-for-like comparison, ground improvement methods can offer sustainability advantages. Case studies illustrate how sustainable principles have been implemented in practical ways on routine projects. Perceived barriers and constraints that may hinder realisation of greater sustainability advances are identified and some suggestions as to how these may be overcome are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the adoption of free wireless Internet parks (iPark) by Qatari citizens as a means of accessing electronic services from public parks. The Qatari government has launched the free wireless Internet parks concept under their national electronic government (e-government) initiative with a view to providing free Internet access for all citizens whilst enjoying the outdoors. By offering free wireless internet access, the Qatari government hopes to increase the accessibility of e-government services and encourage their citizens to actively participate in the global information society with a view to bridging the digital divide. The adoption and diffusion of iPark services will depend on user acceptance and the availability of wireless technology This article examines an extended technology acceptance model (TAM) that proposes individual differences and technology complexity in order to determine perceived usefulness and perceived ease at the iPark initiative by using a survey-based study The article provides a discussion on the key findings, research implications, limitations, and future directions/or the iPark initiative in Qatar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines urban park visiting behaviour of Hong Kong residents. It uses the findings from a telephone survey conducted in 2005, in which 758 Hong Kong residents were successfully interviewed. The survey found that there were slightly more infrequent park users than frequent park users (FPUs) in Hong Kong. About 8% of the respondents said that they never visit urban parks. Of the 43% of FPUs, many of them were either elderly or adolescents. The survey revealed that many users visited parks near their homes and stayed there for a short time. The most appealing activities for park users were doing exercise and taking leisure walks. The dominant barrier that deterred people from going to parks was lack of time to go. Obviously, this is a reflection of the lifestyle of Hong Kong people, in which working long hours are the norm. The findings contributed to a better understanding of the present park-visiting habits of Hong Kong people and indicated that the park authority needs to review its current park planning, design, and management policies to better meet the needs of users. Moreover, in response to the challenges caused by the declining birth rates and the upsurge of the ageing population in recent years, Hong Kong needs to map out a comprehensive strategy to develop urban parks that can cater to the leisure needs of its citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decade from 1996 to 2005 saw dramatic policy changes for national parks as the National Park Service (NPS) moved from an agency-centered service delivery model to a more partnership-based model that included growing reliance on public-private partnerships, outsourcing, corporate sponsorship, and user fees. While these changes helped ensure the quality of visitor experiences, they also had consequences for local residents. Local people are impacted by parks, both directly (e.g., personal use) and indirectly (e.g., impact on local economy). As major stakeholders, they may have opinions about management strategies and plans for a park's future. This study examined the attitudes and visitation behavior of local residents living within 50 miles of Acadia National Park in Maine. Virtually all those responding to a 2006 mail survey had visited Acadia at some time in the past, and half had visited in the preceding year. The doubling of entry fees in 2005 appeared to have had a limited effect on locals; only one-third had reduced their visitation or sought other sites, and nearly half had accessed the park without paying. More than half believed that Acadia should try to attract more visitors, and they approved of magazine advertising and fundraising campaigns like those of the Public Broadcasting Service or National Public Radio, but they opposed direct solicitation. Local residents were not enthusiastic about outsourcing park facilities and services, and they were ambivalent toward further public/private partnerships and future corporate sponsorship, although many commented favorably about current sponsorship programs. However, when these individual factors were combined in a forced-choice conjoint analysis, local residents rejected further developments like these and exhibited strong preferences for the status quo. Finally, despite the fact that Acadia generated an estimated $81 million in value added to the region's economy, fewer than half the local area residents perceived either positive or negative spillover effects from the park; only traffic was considered to be a significant problem by a majority. Those who did have formed opinions about the park were positive and complimentary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine how healthy weight status among youth was related to (i) three proximity-based park variables: number of parks within 1 km of home, total area of parkland within 1 km, and distance to the closest park from home, and (ii) the availability of 13 specific park facilities within 1 km of the home. Data were collected from parents of children living in four neighborhoods of a medium-sized Canadian city. Logistic regression analyses revealed that none of the three proximity-based park variables was significantly associated with healthy weight status among children in the sample. However, when availability of the 13 park facilities was examined, children with a park playground within 1 km were almost five times more likely to be classified as being of a healthy weight rather then at risk or overweight compared to those children without playgrounds in nearby parks. Results suggest that availability of certain park facilities may play a more important role in promoting physical activity and healthy weight status among children than availability of park space in general. Implications for park design are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this study is to apply industrial park concepts to the development of aquaculture parks in public waters. The objectives are to identify the permitting process, relevant agencies, and legislation needed to facilitate development. Gulf of Mexico states are surveyed: private parks exist in Florida, but no public parks have developed yet; plans for parks exist in Mississippi, but lack of funding prevents development; no regulations prohibit parks in Alabama, although none currently exist; Texas regulations hinder development of parks; and an experimental park has been proposed in Louisiana, but regulatory gaps have delayed permit issuance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which aims to compare cardiovascular risk factors among users of public parks in São Paulo, Brazil. The participants have differing levels of physical activity including active, insufficiently active and inactive. The results demonstrate that most of the people who exercise in public parks are elderly and are at a moderate to high cardiovascular risk from this practice, which suggests that a physical education professional should be present.

Protected natural area managers are challenged to provide high quality recreation opportunities and ensure the protection of resources from impacts associated with visitation. Development of visitor use facilities and application of site hardening practices are commonly applied tools for achieving these competing management objectives. This study applies stated choice analysis to examine visitor opinions on acceptability when they are asked to make tradeoffs among competing social, resource and management attributes in backcountry and frontcountry settings of Acadia National Park. This study demonstrates that asking visitors about recreation setting attributes unidimensionally, a common approach, can yield less informative responses. Analyses that considered direct tradeoffs revealed more divergent opinions on acceptability for setting attributes than a unidimensional approach. Findings revealed that visitors to an accessible and popular attraction feature supported trail development options to protect resource conditions with unrestricted visitor access. In contrast, visitors to a remote undeveloped island expressed stronger support for no or limited trail development and access restrictions to protect resource conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the physical features of the Yellowstone National Park as reflected in photography. The Yellowstone National Park is the first national park in the United States. The national park was established in 1872 and has since been represented in photographs. According to the author, sceneries of the park has acquired a fixed form following several decades of varied representations of its sceneries in photographic media. The author cites several photographs to illustrate the fixed form of the sceneries.